


Bearskull Ridge

by boltshok



Series: Landguard + Icefall [in-universe chronological order] [15]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: But no one dies, M/M, Near Death, Other People Are Tortured Offscreen, Rape/Non-con Elements, Starvation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:42:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28535328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boltshok/pseuds/boltshok
Summary: “Good luck ever feeling warm again,” the ‘con pushing Icefall along growled. “This is Bearskull Ridge.”
Relationships: Icefall (OC)/Landguard (OC), OC/OC
Series: Landguard + Icefall [in-universe chronological order] [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650709
Kudos: 2





	Bearskull Ridge

“Where’s Heartstart?” Icefall whispered, leaning in. 

His lights brightened to accommodate for the frigid temperature, coloring the steam of his breath and exhaust from his engine a light blue.

Landguard shook his helm and glanced off into the brush. :Captured:

“What do you mean-”

Icefall balked when Landguard took his hand and silenced him with the other. :They’re hunting us:

Worried optics met Landguard’s. :Should we run?:

A piece of underbrush rustled in front of them. Landguard studied it closely and shifted to put himself between it and Icefall. 

:...yes. Run!:

Icefall turned only to come face to face with a Decepticon hunter leaning against a tree trunk behind them. Landguard charged his railgun and fired off a bolt into the hunter’s chest before pushing Icefall further. 

:Go! I’m behind you:

Icefall looked back only to be pushed forward again, and he blindly burst out of the clearing and into the open forest, pedes sinking in the deep, wet snow. Behind him he can hear Landguard fighting. He just has to run, to run, to run— 

A sharp pulse of fear spiked through the bond and Icefall whirled around with a gasp. Landguard, heavier than Icefall, had sunk too far in the snow and was being swarmed by the hunters. Sliding to a halt, Icefall gazed blankly back at Landguard struggling against the Decepticons beating him.

“What’s the matter, little Autobot?” the leader purred, sidestepping the group and easing towards Icefall, frame moving in lithe, slick steps. “How pretty you are, all lit up.”

“Stay away from him!” Landguard roared, finally pinned down by a knee in his back. “Icefall, run! You’ll be okay!”

:I won’t leave you!:

:Please, run away! You could still escape:

“No, I can’t,” Icefall whimpered, backing away from the Decepticon but keeping his optics locked on Landguard. He watched as the other hunters bound Landguard in chains and hoisted him up onto his knees.

When Icefall backed into a tree, he froze. There’s nowhere to turn with the Decepticon pinning him down and Landguard in chains. 

“Won’t run away, will you?” the Decepticon stalking him purred. “You can’t... but why not?”

He put one hand on Icefall’s chest, over his crystal chamber. Icefall was sure he could feel the hammering of the spark in his chest. 

“Go!” 

Landguard’s voice is secondary in Icefall’s mind as the Decepticon dragged his claws over the crystal, not hard enough to scratch but just enough to make a sick, squeaking sound.

“Not brothers...”

Icefall was trembling hard now. Landguard struggled futilely against the others and cried out when one of them struck him across the back with a bully club, causing Icefall to flinch.

“You’re mates! Oh, it’s our lucky day.”

Dread made Icefall’s knees weak, and he sank down in the snow and weakly lifted his arms to receive his own set of chains. “Please don’t leave me here alone.”

“And he’s begging! What does that mean, mechs?”

The other Decepticons snickered and jeered at him. “Payment! Payment!”

“Payment is right,” the leader crooned, taking Icefall’s jaw in his hand. “So tell me, what do you have to offer?”

Icefall searched the other mech’s hard red optics and found no remorse in their ruby depths. “I don’t have any weapons,” he whimpered, optics watering.

“Got plenty anyway. Hmm...”

Studying Icefall’s expression, the Decepticon reached out and shoved his thumb into Icefall’s mouth, forcing his denta open around the grimy intrusion. “Wow, you’re lit up in there too, huh? I’ve got the perfect idea...”

Opening his modesty plating, the Decepticon revealed his spike, sagging without pressure. “You give me good enough head and I think you can come with us.”

“No!”

Icefall stared at the spike in front of him, Landguard’s shout reverberating in his audials. Numbly, he accepted the Decepticon’s spike past his lips and closed his optics, trying not to retch.

“Oh please, you’re pitiful,” the Decepticon sneered, studying the way Icefall quivered around him before he took hold of Icefall’s helm with both hands. “If you won’t do it, I’ll do it myself.”

He set a relentless pace, growling when Icefall’s hands flew up and latched onto his forearms, trying to pull the ‘con away but he can’t push hard enough to separate them.

“Mechs, he’s pretty good! Maybe you’ll have to try.”

Forceful wet noises filled the space between them while he took what he wanted. Icefall’s optics watered and ran over until all he could do was cling to the Decepticon for stability. He choked as the spike slid further down his throat and the Decepticon grinned down at him.

“That’s it, take me all the way,” he snarled. “Just like that... yeah...”

Landguard gaped at Icefall behind the ‘con’s looming frame, his own optics filled with desperate weeping. He could only look on as the leader used his bonded without remorse or reprieve until he finished, wave after wave of transfluid filling up Icefall’s mouth and intakes. When he’s through, the Decepticon drops Icefall into the snow, looking on with no small amount of satisfaction as Icefall vomits up the sticky fluid.

“Excellent payment,” the leader grunted, palming his spike before stowing it away. “Who’s next?”  
...  
:Does it hurt anymore?:

:It aches: Icefall whispered, helm hung low. Transfluid still dirtied his face and ran from his nose when he breathed too briskly. :But... it’s okay. I’m with you:

:That wasn’t okay: Landguard asserted. :That was wrong:

:What was I supposed to do, resist? I can’t be left behind: Icefall growled, optics and lights flashing momentarily as he glared at Landguard before his gaze softened. :I can’t lose you:

:We’ll always be together: Landguard pulsed, shifting in his chains. 

:You know what I mean:

Ahead of them, rising out of the frozen tundra, was a metal and wood structure. A watchtower.

“Two more for the warden today!” the lead Decepticon crowed. “Let us pass!”

“An excellent bounty!” the guard returned with a savage, one-eyed grin while cranking open the wood-and-iron door. 

The longer the hunting party trudged the closer a similar wood-and-metal structure grew out of the distance. It was a series of walls with metal and wood pikes in the front and along the tops. A few MTOs patrolled the upper edge with insulated ion blasters on their shoulders. 

“Good luck ever feeling warm again,” the ‘con pushing Icefall along growled. “This is Bearskull Ridge.”  
...  
Once the gate swung shut behind them a mech from the wall called “white to the stockades! Black to the medibay!”

Two soldiers grabbed Icefall’s arms and two more grabbed Landguard. Before either could protest they were steered in opposite directions and Icefall’s spark pitched into a panicked swirl.

“No!” he shouted, struggling earnestly against the soldiers attempting to hold him still. “Don’t you dare! Stop! No! Landguard!”

“We can’t be separated,” Landguard pleaded, digging his feet into the frozen ground. “His- his spark. We can’t, we can’t, we can’t—”

A soldier bashed him in the helm with the butt of his weapon.

“Shut up,” he growled. “White to the medibay too, slag.”

They were brought to a shady medibay where a medic bundled up in fur studied Landguard’s mounted railgun. First he prodded it with a set of forceps, then he used his fingers. 

“This will be a fine addition to our stockpile,” the medic grunted. “Strap him down. And why’s the white one still here?”

“He pitches a fit if they’re separated,” the con holding Icefall’s arm said. “Dunno why.”

“Huh. I’ll run a diagnostic. Chain him to the wall for now.”

Dragging Icefall over to the far wall, the con trussed him up and then joined the medic in strapping Landguard to the examination berth before leaning against the wall to watch. Frame tense, Landguard jerked against the restraints before looking over at Icefall. 

:Are you okay?:

:I’m fine. Don’t worry about me: Icefall pulsed. :They’re taking your gun:

:Good riddance to the damned thing: Landguard growled back, then gasped when the medic cut into his arm without bothering with an anesthetic. 

“Oh yes, that’s wired in, isn’t it,” the medic mused, switching out his scalpel for a longer blade. “Tie him tighter. This might take a while.”

The second cut with the new blade drew a pulse of energon to the surface, and Icefall looked on in horror as the medic cut deeper and deeper, seeking the ends of the wires connecting the railgun to Landguard’s forearm. Bit by bit he located and severed them and finally tore the entire unit free, gleefully cackling when a spray of energon spat over not only his frame but Landguard’s as well.

“Excellent, excellent!” he cheered. “Now to close you up and conduct some scans. Are you a bisected spark?”

“Go to Pit,” Landguard snarled weakly at him through gritted denta. “Leave him alone!”

The medic flicked on his welder and turned back to Landguard’s arm. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll take care of you first.”

Icefall looked away.  
...  
The medical exam brought out the secret of their bond, but strangely the ‘cons were rather forgiving about its split nature. Icefall didn’t have much time to ponder this before they were being led down a poorly-insulated hallway towards the outdoors again.

“Welcome to your new home,” the guard growled at them, shoving them into the yard. 

It was snowing, small, wispy snowflakes blowing down from the sky and slipping between their plating to melt against the sensitive protoform. Icefall pulled Landguard in, cradling his damaged arm between them while he looked across the yard at the other smattering of Autobots and few native humanoids gathered there. Icefall led Landguard away from the guard and trudged across the open blank space separating them from the others.

As they approached, the Autobots turned their way, sizing them up. One of the mecha stood and intercepted them. His plating used to be yellow and violet, but now the coverage was patchy and scratched off. He bore an Autobrand in the middle of his breastplate, but it had been etched into a ghoulish face. He was also missing his right hand. Bare wires poked out of his forearm, and while he looked them over one of the wires sparked. The longer Icefall stared at it, he realized the mech was missing the wrist too.

“Newbies,” the mech sighed, voice rough and hoarse. His breath fogged up in the snowy air and dissipated in moments. “Idiots. Git over here and give us the news.”

He ushered them over to a group of haggard looking mecha all in various states of disrepair. One mech sat up against the wall and watched them approach but he looked like he was more grey than color—even with chipped and scratched armor, he was greying around the edges, and upon closer examination Icefall could see why. There was only a sheet of hastily-welded metal covering his spark chamber instead of the intricate locking chamber doors. The other mech with him was a mini with white and blue colors, visible where he still had plating.

“This’s Huffer ‘n’ Ironfist,” the mech growled out, crouching next to them.

“Impactor, why did you bring ‘em over here?” Huffer whined, wheezing with the effort of speaking. Ironfist shruggedthe animal skin off his own shoulders and layered it over Huffer’s frame. 

“Because they might have intel we need, gunner,” Impactor grumbled. “Well? You two are from the outside, tell us. What kind of Pit-slagged mess are we in that I can’t see in here?”

“Uhh,” Icefall said intelligently. “I’m sorry to report but we’ve been separated from the Autobots for a while now. We just heard the call to land—”

“And like a couple’a idiots you listened,” Impactor groaned. “Yeah, well, so did we. Didn’t think Huff woulda made it off the ship but Wreckers’re tough. Even honorary ones.”

“I still don’t want to be a Wrecker,” Huffer wheezed. “Slag off, you got me into this mess. I wanted to go to the moon, but you—”

The doors to the yard open and two mecha are shoved in. One with blue armor, and the other with a recognizable red and white paint job.

“Heartstart!” Icefall gasped, watching as the two limp towards the others. Heartstart made eye contact but glowered at him and kept walking with the blue mech. 

“You know that coward?”

“I—” Icefall turned his helm to glare at Impactor. “He’s not a coward. He flew here with us.”

“And then sold out yer location like a singin’ songbird,” Impactor bit back. “Out loud, to the guards. Loud enough we all knew where you were.”

“I... he...” 

In Icefall’s arms, Landguard shifted away and slowly stood straight. 

“He traveled with us,” Landguard murmured. “He’s just... confused.”

“Well, he can lick my tailpipe,” Impactor spat. “Always hangin’ out with that other guy, Jolt. They’re with the boat.”

“Captain Watercress isn’t a bad mech,” Ironfist piped up, only to give Impactor a sheepish grin when he turned to glare at him now too. “He doesn’t have to like us to work with us.”

“I am not doing anything with that slagheap,” Impactor said, giving Ironfist a boot to the leg. “We need to fight our way out of here, not try and make friends.”

Landguard looked over at Icefall. :Do you want to try and talk to him? Heartstart?:

:I don’t know what good that would do: Icefall sighed. :But there seems to be more mechs over there with him than over here:

:They don’t seem to get along:

:Hmm:

“Why are they over there?” Icefall asked, looking over at the other group of Autobots. Heartstart was squatting down staring at him and glanced away when Icefall’s optics landed on him.

“Fraggin’ Watercress. Thinks he’s so much better than us, it’s disgusting,” Impactor growled. “Wants to talk our way out of this place. This ain’t a place for talkin’, it’s a POW camp. Nobody gets out of here without a fight.”

“...I’m going to talk to him,” Icefall decided after a moment. “Guard, here, sit here. Is it still bleeding?”

“A little,” Landguard mumbled, and showed Icefall the hole. The wires have stopped sparking but the wound was still dripping energon from a few unclamped lines.

“Bah, self-repair will clean that right up,” Impactor groused, glancing over at the wound. “You two don’t happen to have anything heftier we could use for Huff, wouldja?”

“I don’t think so,” Icefall said, looking over at Huffer. “I’m sorry.”

“No one does, I’m fated to go offline in this disgusting snowbank,” Huffer whined. “I—”

“Shut your trap before I shut it for you,” Impactor grumbled, kicking him in the leg. “Go on, kid. Go ask the goody goodies to help us.”

Landguard sat down at a measured distance between Huffer’s frame and his own, looking up at Icefall. :Go on, it’s okay. We’ll be okay:

:Yes we will: Icefall said. :I’ll be right back: 

He walked over to the other group and an aquatic-framed mech stood to greet him. “Hello, soldier. What’s your name?”

“Icefall... sir,” he responded. “What is this place?”

“It’s a prisoner of war camp,” Watercress explained. “Autobots that respond to the hail are being captured. I haven’t been able to locate the Ark’s signal, so it was probably a trapped transmission. The Prime wouldn’t abandon us like this.”

“You’ve met the Prime?”

“A very long time ago when I was very young,” Watercress said, nodding. “In my second battle. Who did you come in with?”

Icefall looked back at Landguard and met his optics. “My bonded, Landguard.”

“Bonded...? Been a while since I’ve encountered a bonded pair. This war has taken so much beauty away from us,” Watercress said, following Icefall’s gaze back to Landguard. 

“We’ve been lucky,” Icefall agreed fondly, enjoying the soft little pulses Landguard sent over the bond. “How come you’re separated from Impactor and the others? Huffer looks like he could use medical treatment, and I know Heartstart’s a medic.”

“Impactor refuses to see reason,” Watercress sighed, beckoning to Icefall. He led him back to the group and crouched down with the mecha accompanying him. “You know Heartstart... this is Jolt, another medic, and Tracks and Aureus. Impactor enjoys the company of three other mecha you haven’t met yet but they are...”

“Routinely interrogated,” Jolt filled in with a tired voice. “Swell place around here.”

Icefall looked down at his feet quietly. Watercress was the first to break the lull by putting his hand on his arm. 

“We can make it,” he said quietly. “I’ve made friends with one of the guards. I think he might be persuaded to let us out.”

“If you think that’s the best way out,” Icefall agreed after a moment. “Would... one of the medics look at Landguard’s arm? It’s still leaking.”

Watercress turned to Jolt and the blue medic heaved himself to his pedes. “Fine, fine.”

Jolt accompanied Icefall back to the other group where Landguard stood and showed Jolt his arm. Glancing at his hands Jolt carefully lowered them into the hole created by the removal of the railgun and carefully rearranged the wires.

“This might smart,” Jolt muttered and pinched two wires together. A little spark snapped between them and Landguard hissed and clenched his opposite hand. 

Jolt shifted his right hand into a welder and carefully tacked the sets of wires together until they were all knitted up.

“That should hold barring any excessive movement,” Jolt said, inspecting his handiwork. Landguard forced himself to vent as Jolt turned his arm over and inspected it for any other damage. “Sorry to say I don’t have any media to close the opening.”

“Thank you,” Icefall blurted, stepping closer to Landguard. “Really.”

“It’s nothing,” Jolt said, waving him off. “If it opens again just be careful with the wires. I’ll weld it if I can.”

“Hey. You,” Impactor growled, approaching them. “Medic. You gonna look at Huff or not?”

“I’ve told you and him time and time again,” Jolt snapped. “I don’t have anything better! I had to beg that off the guards with what scraps of rations I had. Be grateful he’s still functioning.”

“With that hole you know he’s good as slag,” Impactor snarled, leaning in, but Icefall stepped forward and separated them timidly.

“Please, we’re all in here together,” he begged. “We need to stay united.”

Impactor’s optics slid down his frame, taking in the biolights shimmering between the gaps in his armor before he glanced away at the gate opening to the yard.

“Yeah right. United.”

Through the gate trudged three mechs, two walking and dragging a third with them. Impactor growled and shoved his way past Icefall and Jolt with his one remaining hand to intercept the group.

“Go back to the goody-goodies,” he spat offhand. “I’ve got a unit to keep.”

Icefall watched as he met the group and looked them over before he picked up the one mech they had been dragging along. He looked young, but it was hard to tell at this distance. Landguard put his hand on Icefall’s shoulder and drew him into his side. Jolt sighed and trudged back to Watercress’s tiny camp.

“Come on. Maybe we can scrape a dry spot open over there,” he said, gesturing in the direction Jolt went. “We’re not welcome over here.”

“Come back and visit anytime!” Ironfist chirped as they followed Jolt. Landguard rolled his optics and hugged Icefall closer.

Back with Watercress, Landguard and Icefall set about scraping the ground but their efforts were futile. It was frozen solid and hardly yielded to their digging.

With a groan Icefall sat down and put his hand up to his face to feel his jaw. When he took it away to his horror he discovered he still had transfluid stickying his nose.

“Eew,” he muttered and wiped it off on the snow nearby before grabbing a handful and scrubbing the offending material away.

Landguard eased down next to him and looked on as Icefall cleaned himself up. Finally the snow came away clean and Icefall turned to press himself against Landguard’s frame.

:How long do you think we will be held here?:

:I don’t know: Landguard murmured. :If the Prime called us here then surely he must have a reason for doing so. It couldn’t have been...:

:A trap?:

Landguard put his damaged arm around Icefall and held him close.

:Exactly. A trap:  
...  
The coming days yielded nothing but misery. It was freezing constantly, and at night the temperatures dropped even further. The cold, however, was the least of their worries.

Energon rations came when the soldiers guarding the camp cared to remember them. It had not been noticeable at first, but all of the other mecha within the camp recharged most of the time in order to conserve power, but even with his napping Icefall found himself burning through his reserves faster than they were fed. Landguard gave him as much fuel as he could spare but it wasn’t enough. Powering the biolights began to take a toll. It wasn’t obvious, but Icefall was losing mass; his system was pruning what it could in order to consume unneeded components to stay functional.

Huffer suffered. The sheet metal protecting his spark displayed dents and creases from what slight movement he managed, and only after the first truly cold, frigid night passed did Landguard sacrifice a piece of his armor for Jolt and Heartstart to use to forge a makeshift covering strong enough to withstand the abuse passed onto the prisoners by the guards. The black color certainly didn’t match Huffer’s life-drained paint scheme but it was very sturdy.

Of the three special operations mecha who were routinely harassed and interrogated (tortured, Watercress informed Landguard under his breath) only one returned consistently to the camp with minimal damage. Blows that should have severely wounded him came out only superficial, something Landguard could never quite figure out. He watched him be struck down by the guards only to rise up repeatedly unharmed or with only minor dents.

The other two were so occupied with nursing their wounds and preparing for the next inevitable session that they hardly spoke or moved around much once they were returned to the camp. 

A year passed. Dreary summer came and went and in the swelter Icefall removed as much armor as he dared. He was too hot for even Landguard to touch when the light landed upon him constantly, but thankfully the energy from the sun was enough to bring him some relief from his frame’s constant consumption. He even gained enough by the end of the summer to have a slight reserve heading into their second winter.

Jolt attempted to reroute his subroutines in order to prioritize his frame over the lights but it was impossible to change his internal design. Because the biolights were part of his alpha ability changing their importance in his processor trees was out of the question. An ability such as his was inherent. 

And so he starved. While the others (and Landguard, even in his horror and concern for Icefall) sustained, he weakened until he could no longer rise from the ground unaided, and then further still. By the end of the winter he was sleeping for days on end. 

Due to their position on the planet’s surface, the summer was marked by unendingly long days of sunlight. When this period of continuous light came around, Icefall managed to stay awake and regain some of his strength but he was still a shell of a mech. The construction projects Megatron encouraged around the globe saw the creation of another energon distillery nearby and the rations were good for a time. Landguard took their meager extras and buried them deep in the yard where they would be safe from the frigid winter, and because he broke the ground so often they would be easily accessible when needed.

And needed they were. Icefall nearly slipped into stasis around the solstice after an intense snowstorm blocked out the sky for days leaving any remnant filter-feeding from the sun’s solar energy out of the question. The stockpile was the only reason he came out of the winter conscious. 

Summer used to bring him joy. The brilliant sunlight filled him with energy and life like nothing but the strongest engex could, yet it was all he could do to drag himself into the middle of the yard and siphon it up like a dry sponge. 

When the summer solstice came and the days began to lengthen, he nearly broke.  
...  
“Guard,” he whispered, and Landguard shifted his attention from the gentle massage he was imparting on Icefall’s aching shoulders to his mate’s face.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know if I can make it another season,” Icefall rasped, reaching up with shaking hands to grasp Landguard’s arm. 

“What makes you say that?” Landguard said, putting one of his hands over Icefall’s now-much-slimmer ones. 

“Just a feeling,” Icefall murmured. “A feeling in my struts... Guard, I’m not meant to last like this. We’re not supposed to last like this.”

“Hey,” Landguard said, giving him a light shake when his optics began to close tiredly. “We’ll make it. If Huffer can last this long with my leg in between his spark and the world then we can survive another winter. We will survive another winter.”

Icefall sighed and coughed out a soft laugh. 

“Alright,” he finally acquiesced. “But now I’m tired. So tired...”

Landguard let him slip into recharge in his arms before quietly pressing his nose into the crook of Icefall’s neck.

He... wasn’t sure any longer. Could they make it another winter?  
...  
The dread mounted as the nights grew longer and the temperatures began to dip. Icefall could no longer stand and it looked as though he wasn’t the only one. Tracks had been tossed about one too many times and one of his proto-wings snapped off, leaving him lopsided and unable to walk in straight lines. At least he could withstand the starvation.

August passed. Shortly before the start of the new month Landguard awoke to a soft noise and a tugging sensation on the bond, and when his optics online he found Icefall weeping in his sleep, clinging to Landguard for dear life.

“Icefall, Icefall, wake up,” he urged in a low whisper. It took a few moments and some light shaking but Icefall finally came out of it, tears still clouding his optics. 

“I’m afraid, Guard,” he whispered. “I’m afraid, afraid, afraid—”

“Shh, shh-shh,” Landguard murmured, cradling him close and pressing his helm against his chest. “Shh... it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’m right here, and I’ll be with you... always...”

Icefall hiccuped and choked weakly before he stopped trying to speak and just leaned into the embrace. His optics closed for a few minutes before he came around again.

“Please,” he rasped. “I want to see your spark. Please.”

They hadn’t renewed the bond since before their capture, no, since before Heartstart joined them. The pod was too small to have much privacy of that kind.

“Okay,” Landguard whispered in return. 

It took some doing, but he managed to unlock his chamber and the doors shifted aside to reveal his teal-blue spark swirling and spinning in his chest. Icefall reached up to touch it and his hand faltered without enough strength to reach all the way. Taking it in his own, Landguard brought Icefall’s fingertips into the corona of his spark and they both let out a sigh when he made contact. The relief at touching one another again was palpable.

“My beautiful Landguard,” Icefall whispered, optics enraptured in the bright light streaming from Landguard’s chamber. “My beautiful... bonded...”

His optics drifted shut as his systems forced him back into recharge. Once he was well and truly out Landguard removed his fingers and carefully closed his spark away again.

Icefall might be right. They might not survive another winter.  
...  
The next day, Icefall didn’t wake. Nor did he the day after, or the day after that. On the morning of the fourth day, Landguard begged the guards for more fuel but they only looked on with exhausted disdain. This ordeal had been taxing on them as well.

He had just settled down for an afternoon nap when the sound of a horn blew outside the wall. A jet—or was it a mech wearing a jetpack?—shot by overhead, dropping grenades into the watchtowers and two parcels of weapons into the camp area. Impactor, Watercress, and Aureus were the first to grab the bundles and tear them open, and between the three of them every conscious prisoner was outfitted with at least a handgun. Landguard was given a shotgun and told to use it.

“We’re leaving,” Impactor growled and opened fire on the guards above them occupied with the barrage outside.

Landguard loaded the shotgun and carefully laid Icefall on the ground before placing himself between Icefall’s prone frame and the gunfight along the wall. A gunshot louder than the machine weapons being used by the guards cracked outside in the forest and one of the Decepticons lurched over the edge of the wall. Ironfist let out a cheer and Impactor rushed the gate. While he shot at the Decepticons atop the wall the gate began to shake and Landguard watched as smoking holes emerged at the hinges and it fell in. On the other side stood a proud mech with shining black and red heavy blast-grade armor and cannons for arms. He grinned at Landguard and marched forward to reveal what, no who, he had been shielding. 

A medic!

It was easy to recognize his station because he bore clean white reinforced armor with medical insignias on both shoulders. He held a medkit in one hand and transformed the other into a scanner as he began to sweep the yard, starting with Huffer. The mini pushed him off and pointed at Icefall, and suddenly he was there, scanning, examining, helping. Landguard tried to stay firm but the sight of an Autobot medic, one who had broken through from the outside, was helping them... they would be free! They could finally be free. Tears clouded his optics while the medic knelt and began assembling an IV line from a couple energon bags to Icefall’s shoulder.

“Hold these up,” he instructed, handing the bags over to Landguard. “Alert me when they’re empty. He’ll make it, mech.”

His hand brushed Landguard’s when he handed over the bags and Landguard gasped. The touch didn’t burn, it... it tingled. He choked and held the bags up high, watching as the life-saving fuel dripped down into Icefall’s frame. Through the gate now came other mecha, storming into the compound seeking the rest of the Decepticons stationed there. 

On the ground, Icefall groaned and Landguard bent over him, sliding one arm under his back to lift him up and cradle in his lap.

“Guard... Guard...” Icefall rasped, optics slowly opening.

“I’m right here, right here,” Landguard choked out, finding one of Icefall’s hands and squeezing it tight. “I’m here.”

Icefall’s optics open and brighten as more fuel enters his system, and Landguard helps him to sit up against his chest.

“What happened?” he whispered. “Guard, your face... what’s wrong?”

Choking up all over again Landguard leaned in and nuzzled him oh-so-tenderly. “You’ve been sleeping for four days, my light.”

Icefall paused at this before he sighed, a deep, rattling sound. 

“Well, I’m back,” he grumbled stubbornly. “Is... what’s in my arm?”

“An IV,” Landguard said, lowering the bag for a moment to show him before he raised it up again. “We’re saved. The Autobots... we’re saved. They’re here.”

Icefall makes a noise that might pass as a giggle if he had the strength to laugh. “We’re saved.”  
...  
The ‘cleanup’, as Ironhide put it, inside the Decepticon compound went swiftly once word of an Autobot raid went through the remaining ranks, and then the yard was filled with able-bodied Autobot mecha handing out energon cubes to the survivors like it was going out of style. Landguard downed as many cubes as his tanks could hold and for the first time in years felt full. Well and truly full. Icefall consumed what he could and his lights began to burn with a brilliance Landguard had missed, but it was short lived. The damage to his frame was internal as well, and merely consuming excessive amounts of fuel would not solve those issues.

“I’ve brought mecha back from far worse,” the medic, Ratchet, explained to them. “The biolights will be a slight issue at the beginning, but I think with a few decacycles of therapy you’ll see improvement. Can you stand?”

“Definitely not,” Icefall said with a weak chuckle. “Haven’t in... weeks.”

“I’ll carry him,” Landguard said, heaving himself to his pedes. He stood up too quickly and wavered when he bent down to slide an arm under Icefall’s shoulder.

“Ah-ah,” Ratchet said, putting a hand on his arm to halt him. Again the touch tingled pleasantly and seemed to penetrate deep into his plating. “Focus on your own frame. ‘Hide! I need you here for transport.”

Ironhide trudged across the yard and transformed, offering the bed of his alt. mode to Ratchet. As Ratchet bent to pick up Icefall two mecha, one red and the other yellow, jogged up and scooped Icefall up between them.

“Can’t have ya throwin’ out your back before we get back to base,” the red mech teased with a cheeky grin and Ratchet grumbled “I’m not that old,” under his breath.

Impactor strode up, holding Huffer in his arms. He purposefully placed him beside Icefall before closing up the tailgate.

“We gotta leave before those jets get any wise ideas and come back,” he growled to Ratchet. “Who’s in charge here?”

“That’s me,” a warm voice spoke behind them. 

A blue-visored mech that Landguard had only read about walked up and gave Impactor a clap on the arm before he looked over the other mecha present.

“We’re ready to go, doc,” he said. “The other’s are all bundled up an’ idlin’. Let’s git out of here.”

“Agreed,” Ratchet said, casting a wary optic at the sky before he turned to address Landguard. “Can you transform?”

He checked on the status of his transformation cog and nodded. “Should be able to.”

“Then do it. We’re leaving.”

Landguard initiated the shift and felt his body change and transform, a welcome feeling after so long. His tires were low on pressure but he was operational.

“Mmm, your tires are low,” Ratchet commented before retrieving a tool from his subspace and effortlessly pumping up first the front ones, then the back. 

Everywhere he touched left little tingly sensations of warmth that Landguard didn’t really want to end. But end it did, and Ratchet transformed and took his place behind Landguard.

“I’ll push you if it comes to it,” Ratchet said. “I’m more than capable.”

Ironhide took the lead, followed by Jazz and a few other mecha Landguard didn’t know before Impactor, Aureus, and himself finally joined. Ratchet and the red and yellow mechs brought up the rear. As they pulled out of the gates of Bearskull Ridge, a sleek coupe pulled in behind them, and they were off.

They followed the trail the Autobots had cut coming up to Bearskull Ridge, and by nightfall they were chugging along down a small road towards the south. When he was awake, Icefall’s optics studied Landguard the entire way back.

:You’re sure you’re okay: Landguard pulsed. :I can move up in the line if I’m too far away:

:I’m alright: Icefall insisted. :I can see you. It’s okay:

The drive down to the newly-created Autobase under the lake lasted nearly a month. It was impossible to travel during the day because of the constant Decepticon surveillance in the sky looking for them, and sometimes they needed to transform and walk because the snow was too deep. During the journey Ratchet patched and fiddled with Tracks’ wing, Landguard and Impactor’s arms, and the insulation of Huffer’s makeshift spark covering. Icefall fed on as much energon he could stomach from the rations, including some of the emergency stash in Landguard’s now-accessible subspace.

The survivors cheered when they finally could see Ten Day Lake through the trees. Salvation! They coasted the last meters into the electromagnetic interference area and finally transformed to walk into the Autobase.

They were greeted by the few Autobots who stayed behind to run the base and prepare it for the wounded. Optimus Prime stood in the forefront and for the first time ever Icefall and Landguard looked upon him in awe.

:That’s him:

:Yeah. That’s him:

Kamilla slid out from Ironhide’s cab and stumbled into the arms of two other members of the Human Alliance. They walked her back into the human-occupied portion of the base while Ratchet herded the survivors into the medibay for some much needed repairs. Everyone who could help pitched in, and between Ratchet, First Aid, Wheeljack, and Perceptor the biggest repairs were underway.

Huffer was taken into surgery, and after some refining a new outer spark casing was forged for him, courtesy of Wheeljack. Not only was it made out of blast-proof sentio metallico but it had space for a new tow-winch cable winder!

Aureus and Watercress were released shortly after their basic treatment was over. They were the most uninjured mecha in the group and found work on the duty roster after a few weeks of recovery.

Those most damaged by the Ridge were the three special operations agents who underwent regular interrogations. They were secluded in medrooms away from the main medibay for specialty treatment and counseling therapy.

Impactor was provided a new hand-hook and took his leave with Ironfist from the medibay as soon as it was installed. Tracks’ wiring was untangled so he could walk straight with a crutch, but the sensitive wing paneling was something that could not be remade as easily as straightforward mechanical parts like Huffer’s spark covering. He took his place in the veteran’s ward with Icefall and Landguard while they received as much energon as could be spared. 

“I didn’t think we’d ever make it out of there in one piece,” Icefall mumbled in berth next to Landguard.

“I’ve never known you to be so negative,” Landguard murmured, stroking his helm tenderly. “You really thought we would end there?”

Icefall turned to press his face deep into Landguard’s neck and hug him close. “...yeah.”

“Well, I’m happy it didn’t turn out like that,” Landguard rumbled, putting his arms around him to keep him close. “I have many more milestones to complete with you.”

Icefall laughed under his breath and kissed Landguard’s throat. “Okay,” he said. “I can’t wait.”


End file.
